Earthwar
Encyclopedia
"Earthwar" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics
, and presented in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #241-245 (July–November 1978). It was written by Paul Levitz
, pencilled by James Sherman
and Joe Staton
and inked by Bob McLeod. The story arc features the efforts of the Legion of Super-Heroes
to halt a massive intergalactic war involving the United Planets
, the Khund
s, the Dominators
, the Dark Circle
and the sorcerer Mordru
.
Ambassador Relnic summons Mon-El
, Ultra Boy
, Wildfire
and Dawnstar
to Weber's World
to protect a diplomatic conference between the U.P. and the Dominion
, while many of their fellow Legionnaires battle the Resource Raiders on and above Earth. The sudden dual crisis prevents Science Police
officer Shvaughn Erin
from informing the team that one of its enemies has escaped imprisonment. The Legion prevails over the Raiders, only to discover that they were advance scouts preceding a Khund
ian invasion of Earth. While the team struggles against the massive invasion fleet, Superboy
, Element Lad
, Sun Boy
and Colossal Boy
take the fight to Khundia (the Khund homeworld), where they learn that the Khund warlord Garlak is being telepathically manipulated by an outside force -- which they trace back to Weber’s World.
The Legionnaires prevent a pair of assassins from killing the Dominion diplomatic delegation at Weber's World, but it is only one in a series of events seemingly designed to disrupt the peace conference. When Relnic and the Dominators suddenly vanish without a trace, the Legionnaires decide to return to Earth. Along the way, they locate a space station and discover the missing Dominators, who inform them that Relnic is a Dark Circle
agent. Meanwhile, the Khundian fleet penetrates the U.P. defenses and lands on Earth, with both the regular Legion and the Legion of Substitute Heroes
unable to stop them. As the Khunds approach Legion Headquarters, the only ones remaining to defend the complex are the four Legionnaires who were forced to retire upon marriage: Lightning Lad
, Saturn Girl
, Bouncing Boy
and Duo Damsel. After the four of them successfully defend Legion HQ, Saturn Girl telepathically probes one of the Khundish commanders, learning that reinforcements sent by the Dark Circle are approaching the planet. Officer Erin fends off Khundian troops at Science Police HQ with the assistance of Karate Kid
, who returns from the 20th century.
At Earth's Presidential Palace, the returning Legionnaires locate their comrades who were captured in battle with the Khunds, but are now being held by members of the Dark Circle. The Circle agents attempt to destroy Earth using a sphere of negative matter. Superboy, Mon-El, Ultra Boy and Wildfire block most of the negasphere's energy as it is released, but the palace is demolished. Only a handful of Legionnaires are conscious when one of the Circle agents (who had been masquerading as Ambassador Relnic) reveals himself to be the escaped foe that Erin tried to warn the Legion about earlier: the sorcerer Mordru
.
Having skillfully manipulated the Resource Raiders, the Khunds, the Dark Circle and the events on Weber's World, Mordru seizes control of Earth. After a brief retreat, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Karate Kid rescue the imprisoned Legionnaires and Substitute Heroes. In orbit above Earth, Mordru fends off the entire group of heroes, until Element Lad is able to transmute the free-floating hydrogen atoms surrounding the sorcerer into soil. Having been effectively imprisoned underground, Mordru is defeated. In the aftermath of the crisis, the Khunds and the Dark Circle are driven out of United Planets territory. The U.P. and the Dominion sign an extended peace treaty. The Legion unanimously amends its constitution to allow married Legionnaires to remain on active duty. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl opt to return to the team, while Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel decline to do so.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, and presented in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #241-245 (July–November 1978). It was written by Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
, pencilled by James Sherman
James Sherman (comics)
James Sherman is an artist known for his work in American comic books, movies and logos.-Career:In comics he is known for his pencil work on Legion of Super-Heroes in the late 1970s, when he took over as regular artist following Mike Grell. His run, which ended halfway during the multiple issue...
and Joe Staton
Joe Staton
Joe Staton is an American illustrator and writer of comic books.-Career:Staton started his work with Charlton Comics in 1971 and gained notability as the artist of the super-hero book E-Man...
and inked by Bob McLeod. The story arc features the efforts of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
to halt a massive intergalactic war involving the United Planets
United Planets
In the , the United Planets is a fictional governing body, traditionally depicted as active in the 30th and 31st century.-History of the published versions of the United Planets:...
, the Khund
Khund
The Khunds are a fictional alien race in the DC Universe, notable for extreme violence. They first appeared in Adventure Comics #346 , as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century.-Fictional history:...
s, the Dominators
Dominators
The Dominators, collectively known as the Dominion, are a fictional alien race from the outer cosmos of the DC Universe. They are highly technologically advanced, and live in a rigid hierarchical society, in which one's caste is determined by the size of a red circle on one's forehead...
, the Dark Circle
Dark Circle
The Dark Circle is a fictional criminal organization in publications from DC Comics.-Fictional history:The Dark Circle first appeared in Adventure Comics #367 as an insurgent group planning to conquer the United Planets in the 30th century. It was composed of only five people and armies of clones...
and the sorcerer Mordru
Mordru
Mordru is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics' main shared universe.Mordru is the most prominent Lord of Chaos who is fated to survive even after the end of the universe, although he is usually shown as a powerful wizard...
.
Plot
United PlanetsUnited Planets
In the , the United Planets is a fictional governing body, traditionally depicted as active in the 30th and 31st century.-History of the published versions of the United Planets:...
Ambassador Relnic summons Mon-El
Lar Gand
Lar Gand, known primarily as Mon-El , is a fictional character in DC Comics' universe who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman...
, Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained these powers when the space-speedster he was flying was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast , exposing him to...
, Wildfire
Wildfire (comics)
Wildfire is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero in that universe's 30th and 31st centuries. Created by Cary Bates and Dave Cockrum, the character debuted in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #195 .-Publication history:...
and Dawnstar
Dawnstar
Dawnstar is a fictional superheroine in comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell.- Fictional character biography :...
to Weber's World
Weber's World
Weber's World is a fictional planet in the 30th Century .It is an artificial planet-sized satellite, constructed for the purpose of housing the government and bureaucracy of the United Planets....
to protect a diplomatic conference between the U.P. and the Dominion
Dominators
The Dominators, collectively known as the Dominion, are a fictional alien race from the outer cosmos of the DC Universe. They are highly technologically advanced, and live in a rigid hierarchical society, in which one's caste is determined by the size of a red circle on one's forehead...
, while many of their fellow Legionnaires battle the Resource Raiders on and above Earth. The sudden dual crisis prevents Science Police
Science Police
Science Police is a fictional law enforcement agency in the . They were referred to as "World-Wide Police" in their first appearance in the 30th century. They were featured in a four issue limited series titled Legion Science Police. In the 30th and 31st centuries, the Science Police serves the...
officer Shvaughn Erin
Shvaughn Erin
Shvaughn Erin is a fictional character in the 30th and 31st centuries of the , appearing primarily as a supporting character in the various Legion of Super-Heroes series...
from informing the team that one of its enemies has escaped imprisonment. The Legion prevails over the Raiders, only to discover that they were advance scouts preceding a Khund
Khund
The Khunds are a fictional alien race in the DC Universe, notable for extreme violence. They first appeared in Adventure Comics #346 , as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century.-Fictional history:...
ian invasion of Earth. While the team struggles against the massive invasion fleet, Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
, Element Lad
Element Lad
Element Lad is a fictional character in the 30th and 31st centuries of the , a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. A native of the planet Trom, he has the power to transmute chemical elements.-Pre-Zero Hour:...
, Sun Boy
Sun Boy
Sun Boy is a fictional character, a superhero in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe. Sun Boy is a Legion of Super-Heroes member with the ability to unleash internal solar energy to whatever degree he wishes, from enough to light a single candle to enough to melt nearly any...
and Colossal Boy
Gim Allon
Colossal Boy , also known as Leviathan and Micro Lad, is a fictional character in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe who has gone by a variety of superhero names over the past several decades, although originally Colossal Boy. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He...
take the fight to Khundia (the Khund homeworld), where they learn that the Khund warlord Garlak is being telepathically manipulated by an outside force -- which they trace back to Weber’s World.
The Legionnaires prevent a pair of assassins from killing the Dominion diplomatic delegation at Weber's World, but it is only one in a series of events seemingly designed to disrupt the peace conference. When Relnic and the Dominators suddenly vanish without a trace, the Legionnaires decide to return to Earth. Along the way, they locate a space station and discover the missing Dominators, who inform them that Relnic is a Dark Circle
Dark Circle
The Dark Circle is a fictional criminal organization in publications from DC Comics.-Fictional history:The Dark Circle first appeared in Adventure Comics #367 as an insurgent group planning to conquer the United Planets in the 30th century. It was composed of only five people and armies of clones...
agent. Meanwhile, the Khundian fleet penetrates the U.P. defenses and lands on Earth, with both the regular Legion and the Legion of Substitute Heroes
Legion of Substitute Heroes
The Legion of Substitute Heroes is a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are a group of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes who banded together, hoping to prove to the Legion that their powers were not as useless...
unable to stop them. As the Khunds approach Legion Headquarters, the only ones remaining to defend the complex are the four Legionnaires who were forced to retire upon marriage: Lightning Lad
Garth Ranzz
Lightning Lad , also known as Live Wire, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He has the superhuman ability to generate electricity, usually in the form of lightning bolts. He is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries...
, Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
, Bouncing Boy
Bouncing Boy
-Fictional character biography:Bouncing Boy is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century. He is Chuck Taine of Earth, and he has the power to inflate like a ball and bounce. He received his powers when he accidentally drank a super...
and Duo Damsel. After the four of them successfully defend Legion HQ, Saturn Girl telepathically probes one of the Khundish commanders, learning that reinforcements sent by the Dark Circle are approaching the planet. Officer Erin fends off Khundian troops at Science Police HQ with the assistance of Karate Kid
Karate Kid (comics)
Karate Kid is a fictional character, a superhero in the future of the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He is a master of every form of martial arts to have been developed by the 31st century...
, who returns from the 20th century.
At Earth's Presidential Palace, the returning Legionnaires locate their comrades who were captured in battle with the Khunds, but are now being held by members of the Dark Circle. The Circle agents attempt to destroy Earth using a sphere of negative matter. Superboy, Mon-El, Ultra Boy and Wildfire block most of the negasphere's energy as it is released, but the palace is demolished. Only a handful of Legionnaires are conscious when one of the Circle agents (who had been masquerading as Ambassador Relnic) reveals himself to be the escaped foe that Erin tried to warn the Legion about earlier: the sorcerer Mordru
Mordru
Mordru is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics' main shared universe.Mordru is the most prominent Lord of Chaos who is fated to survive even after the end of the universe, although he is usually shown as a powerful wizard...
.
Having skillfully manipulated the Resource Raiders, the Khunds, the Dark Circle and the events on Weber's World, Mordru seizes control of Earth. After a brief retreat, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Karate Kid rescue the imprisoned Legionnaires and Substitute Heroes. In orbit above Earth, Mordru fends off the entire group of heroes, until Element Lad is able to transmute the free-floating hydrogen atoms surrounding the sorcerer into soil. Having been effectively imprisoned underground, Mordru is defeated. In the aftermath of the crisis, the Khunds and the Dark Circle are driven out of United Planets territory. The U.P. and the Dominion sign an extended peace treaty. The Legion unanimously amends its constitution to allow married Legionnaires to remain on active duty. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl opt to return to the team, while Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel decline to do so.